Think tank calls for reform of Arizona's jobless program


Christine L. Romero
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 17, 2003 12:00 AM


Arizona should fix its unemployment system to stop multimillion-dollar waste due to fraud and other flaws, a Goldwater Institute report suggests.

Arizona's jobless workers get $205 a week maximum, the lowest rate in the nation, and legislators are considering increasing that amount.

The report, commissioned by the conservative think tank, will be released in late January. Oregon-based economist William B. Conerly, in an early overview Tuesday morning in Phoenix, said:


• Arizonans took $60 million in fraudulent unemployment claims last year out of the $357 million paid. This is higher than the average 9 percent overpayment nationally, Conerly said, citing U.S. Labor Department research.

People continued receiving benefits after they got a job, or they duped the system altogether by receiving benefits even though they weren't eligible. Systems exist to track this type of fraud, but state officials would need money to better enforce them, Conerly said.


• President Bush's New Balance proposal would eliminate the federal unemployment-insurance tax on companies, giving states more decision-making authority over the money used to administer the program.


• Arizona could cut spending by implementing mandatory job-training programs. In other states, the time on unemployment drops when people are forced to attend regular meetings or job-search seminars lasting up to two days, he said